http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/281149-rnc-official-we-wont-go-full-trump-on-party-platformBy Jonathan Swan - 05/25/16 06:00 AM EDT
A top Republican National Committee (RNC) official sought to soothe business leaders worried about Donald Trump’s influence on the party, saying at a private meeting on Tuesday that its presumptive presidential nominee would not dictate the party’s platform.
Ben Key, the RNC platform committee’s executive director, offered the assurance during a meeting at the organization’s headquarters on Capitol Hill, according to two sources in the room.
“Ben said that as the presumptive nominee, Trump would have some influence on the platform, but it wouldn’t be determinative,” said the first source who attended the meeting.
The source said several of those attending the meeting offered knowing smiles in response to the comment.
“And then he added … that the platform would not include some of the more controversial positions that Trump has taken,” the source said.
A second source who attended the meeting said Key did not single out any specific Trump policies that might not be in the platform, but he stressed the GOP can maintain distance from its presumptive nominee’s ideas when it crafts its platform at the Republican National Convention in July.
“[Key] said that just because it’s a potential nominee doesn’t mean those ideas are going to find their way into the platform,” the second source in the room said.
“He said the platform will be a decision that serves the whole party.”
The RNC declined an opportunity to deny or clarify Key’s private comments about how Trump would influence the platform.
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